Tektronix Updates Aurora Quality Control System

BEAVERTON, ORE.—Tektronix’s Aurora automated file-based quality control (QC) system has received a new set of features to boost its test and monitoring capabilities. Among the enhancements to the system are a Perceptual Video Quality measurement tool, support on the Amazon Web Services cloud, and support for AS-10 PAD Delivery Specification.

Aurora 6.1

The new PVQ technology that has been incorporated into the Aurora system comes from Tektronix’s Sentry family of video network monitors. Aurora can now analyze video content using a proprietary algorithm for detecting video compression artifacts that affect viewers’ experience. It also uses a format akin to a Mean Opinion Score for graphically plotting video quality.

With the Aurora system now being supported on the Amazon cloud, the system can offer scalable automated analysis of file-based video content ingested from different sources, encoded at different bitrates and formats, and using different compression standards for SD/HD, VOD or IPTV delivery. Aurora on Amazon cloud performs checks quality compliance, playability of audio and video at ingest, after encoding, after transcoding and before playout. Files are processed of AWS S3 storage and optimizes EC2 compute instance resources usage on the AWS Cloud.

Now offering support for AS-10 PAD, Aurora can test content delivered to French broadcasters for compliance. With AS-10 PAD support, as well as UK-DPP, Tektronix provides post-production professionals a way to test content the ensure delivery specifications of regions are met.

Tektronix will showcase the upgrades to its Aurora system during IBC 2016 in Amsterdam at stand 10.D41.

With the future of technology looking to include the likes of 4K, HDR, wide color gamut, video over IP and adaptive bit rate, Tektronix is preparing a range of products for IBC 2016 that will look to help incorporate these new technologies.